Welcome
to the Rancho Vilasa/Spurs Magazine Bookstore! We're in the
process of a redesign and reorganization. You can see our
new banner above. Until we're done, the existing
bookstore allows us to share great reading, listening and
watching material.

How
to organize a lifetime's compulsive reading? We are all
bookworms in the Nathan family. The condition seems genetic
and multi-generational. Thumbs up? How many? One or two?
How about four? Six? Ten? Well, since I do the work for
this site, I decided to give my preferences top billing.
We started out with the top three categories below. They
quickly evolved as life moved forward. Two additional groups
of books have been added. (CD, VIDEO, DVD and other categories
will be added over time.) Here's a directory to the book
categories:

NECESSARY
READING Books I consider so good or important
that you shouldn't leave earth without reading/owning
them.

GOOD STUFFis definitely worth reading,
but didn't grab me to the extent of the first group,
which have to send all bells ringing in my heart and
soul.

HORSE
BOOKS. These are a combination of necessary
reading and good stuff, as pertaining to horses.

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
CHOICES If your Book Discussion Group
would like to order it's book and benefit a good cause,
E-MAIL MEwith your book selections title and ISBN # (usually
on the back cover). For orders of six or more copies,
I'll post your book within a few hours so you can order
directly through this site. Your book group will get
great Amazon prices and the charity will get the highest
rebates.

BOOKS IN PROGRESS,
are books I'm currently reading. I'll let you know if
they're worth buying as soon as I know.

These
are subjective assessments. You may want to avail yourself
of the Readers' Reviews and Editorial Reviews which Amazon.com
provides before plunking down your plastic. This is a family
endeavor to benefit a good cause. Reviews and opinions are
mine-- with the participation of family and friends.

NECESSARY
READING

These
are the books I've read and remembered since. They represent
my preferences, of course. It is not true, as members
of my Book Discussion Group seem to think, that I only like
books by Russians and Scandinavians where everyone dies
a the end. No. I also like books by Native Americans and
enlightened masters, and sometimes there are survivors.
I don't like pablum. Most of these books deal with meaty
issues. Issues that at are core of human existence. Nothing
easy. All beautiful, brilliant and satisfying.
(They're in no particular order.)

TITLE:
INDEPENDENT PEOPLEAUTHOR:
Halldor Laxness
DESCRIPTION: Halldor Laxness won the 1955 Nobel
Prize with this one. It's the story of Bjartur,
an indentured servant who purchased his freedom
with 18 years of hard work. Bjartur sets out to
be truly independent by owning his own farm-- which
happens to be cursed. This saga dissects the Icelandic
social system, Bjartur's psyche (& those of
all other characters), & illustrates the effects
of war and greed on both. E. Annie Proulx, Jane
Smiley & I agree: It's one of the best books
ever written. Don't read the Introduction. Gives
away too much. R rated for Explicit Poverty.

TITLE
PLAY OF CONSCIOUSNESSAUTHOR:
Swami MuktanandaDESCRIPTION:
Play of Consciousness is the spiritual autobiography
of Sw. Muktananda, an Indian meditation master who
died in 1982. He wrote it as a teaching device for
his students. The book opens with a tightly written
and comprehensive guide to Hinduism and yoga. The
second part describes his spiritual experiences.
They read like sci-fi, but you sense their utter
authenticity. You may get culture shock. Translated
from Hindi or one of the Indian languages and written
by an older, Hindu monk, the language is flowery,
exquisite, and somewhat antiquated. Muktananda talks
about gurus and disciples. The word “guru” has been
maligned in the West. “Guru” means “teacher”. Muktananda's
essential energy roars through POC. You may find
yourself nodding off or falling into meditation.
You may only be able to read a page to two at a
time. That's fine. Just keep reading. It's a classic.

Cover:
1978 Harper & Row Edition.

TITLE
TOUGH TRIP THROUGH PARADISEAUTHOR:
Andrew GarciaDESCRIPTION:
This book's handwritten manuscript was found in
a dynamite box in its author's Montana cabin after
his death at age 88. Garcia was an original Western
settler, arriving in Montana in 1878, one year after
the famous Nez Perce Chief Joseph's surrender. If
you want authentic Old West, here it is. Garcia
tells it like he saw it, favoring neither Native
Americans or Europeans. He marries three Indian
women (sequentially) and leaves his past world behind.
This book has romance, beauty, humor, deadly adventure.
Danger. Thrillers come nowhere near this true story.
Most of all, Andrew Garcia's soul shines through
his writing. What a dear, good man. I wish I could
have met him.

Buy
From AmazonCurrently
out of print. Try Barnes & Noble, Amazon, used
book stores, auctions. This book is worth having!
May be available again.

TITLE
CEREMONYAUTHOR: Leslie Anne Silko
DESCRIPTION: A classic in Native American literature,
Ceremony tells the story of Tayo, a young Native
man who returns from W.W.II with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Silko's masterful writing interweaves
the personal, social and societal causes for Tayo's
illness with traditional Native legends and cures.
Beautiful, inspiring and very harsh. Like Tayo's
life. A stellar book. I have a list of study questions
our Book Review used in examining this book. E mail
me if you want them.

TITLE
COLD MOUNTAIN AUTHOR:
Charles FrazierDESCRIPTION:
One of the most romantic books I have ever read,
Cold Mountain is a slow, sweeping epic of a slice
of American history. Heartsick and disillusioned,
Inman, a Confederate soldier gravely wounded at
Petersburg, decides to walk home to the Blue Ridge
Mountains. He longs for Ada, the preacher's daughter
he left behind. He longs for healing from the war's
physical and spiritual ravages. His trip takes him
through the turmoil and insanity of the time. While
Inman makes the almost impossible journey home,
Ada fights for her life. Raised to make polite conversation
and sketch, she must find the means for survival
within herself. Winner of the National Book Award.
National Best Seller.

TITLE
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLYAUTHOR: Jean-Domininque Bauby
DESCRIPTION:Feeling sorry for yourself? Life got
you down? Read this. In 1992, the author was the
43 year old editor of the French Elle. A
witty bon vivant with two children and a full life,
Bauby suffered a massive stroke that left him completely
and permanently paralyzed. He could blink his left
eye-- that's it. This book was written by Bauby
blinking as a reader read a special alphabet aloud.
Blink= Write that LETTER. The book was written
like that, letter by letter. It's short. Depressing?
No. Lovely. A lovely, moving, haunting memoir of
a man who used his mind to entertain and delight
himself when that's all he had. He tells of the
hard parts: His children's visits. Old acquaintances
calling him a vegetable. But this is a magnificent
final song. Bauby died 2 days after the French edition
of this book came out. It was the #1 International
Best Seller in Europe. Praised universally by critics.
Inspiring.

Say
you don't feel like solving the problems of the world
tonight, or at least solving them so intensely. Say you
just want to-- not really veg out-- but relax. Read something
fun. Or, okay, have a tasteful thrill or two. Try these
titles. (They're in no particular order.)

TITLE
ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTIN'AUTHOR Rick BraggDESCRIPTION:
Inspired writing. See Writer's
Corner for more discussion. Pulitzer Prize winning,
New York Times reporter, Rick Bragg, tells the story
of growing up “poor white trash” in Alabama. Seldom
have I read more compassionate, truthful, heartfelt
words. Mr. Bragg's love for his family, his mother
and his country blasts through. Just as truthful
is his depiction of the alcoholic father who deserted
his family and the crushing effect of their subsequent
poverty. Simple. Beautiful. Unforgettable. A New
York Times Notable Book of the Year.

TITLELEAVING YUBA CITYAUTHOR
Chitra Divakaruni
DESCRIPTION: India-born Chitra Divakaruni is one of
my favorites. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature from
UC Berkeley and teaches at Foothill College on the
San Francisco Peninsula. She's won both Allen Ginsberg
and Pushcart Prizes for poetry. This is my favorite
of her works, a book of award winning poetry about
the experience of Indians coming to the United States.
Beautiful, powerful work illuminating a population
I knew little about.

TITLE
ARRANGED MARRIAGE AUTHOR Chitra Divakaruni
DESCRIPTION: A group of short stories around the
subject of arranged marriage. These stunners will
leave you breathless. Sad, poignant, beautiful.
Unforgettable. Haunting. I like this book as well
as Divakaruni's poetry. Read this before Sister
of my Heart. Divakaruni uses one of the short
stories as the basis of Sister.

TITLESISTER OF MY HEARTAUTHOR
Chitra Divakaruni
DESCRIPTION: The story of two "sisters"--
in fact distant cousins-- who grow up in the same
household along with a family secret, mysteries, and
a number of strong personalities. The young women
are dear friends. The tensions around them cause them
to separate and....? Set in India and the United States.
Beautiful language. You feel like you're in India.

TITLE
MISTRESS OF SPICESAUTHOR Chitra Divakaruni
DESCRIPTION: A haunting contemporary fable, fantastic
and sensual. Tilo, a young woman from a faraway
place, makes her way through magic and pirates to
a mythical healer. She's trained in the mystery
of spices and ordained as an immortal master. Once
ordained, she finds herself transported to Oakland,
California (!?) as an old woman tending an Indian
spice shop. The fun begins. How do desire for individual
happiness and duty interrelate? A best seller. Great
fun.

TITLE
GUNS, GERMS & STEEL AUTHOR
Jared DiamondDESCRIPTION:
Perhaps one of the most important books I've read,
Diamond asks the question: Why did some human cultures
innovate and prosper, and end up colonizing the
rest? Why did other cultures not develop past stone
tools? Gives a scientific answer not based on race.
Diamond is one smart fellow. A mature scientist.
He uses everything he knows in this book. Guns,
Germs & Steel is a Pulitzer Prize winner,
winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, and
a National Bestseller. Acclaimed by The New Yorker,
New York Times, almost everyone else, major professors
and-- Bill Gates. A must read for any thoughtful
person. Great book club selection.

TITLE
THE LONG WAY TO LOS GATOSAUTHOR Verne AlbrightDESCRIPTION:
THIS BOOK SHOULD BE A BEST SELLER!!! We've known
author Verne Albright for years as the affable and
articulate announcer at our Peruvian Paso horse
shows. And yes, we knew that he rode two Peruvian
Paso horses from Peru to the United States in the
1960's. But we didn't know the whole story. Braving
vampire bats! Cholera! Typhoid! Malaria! Bubonic
plague! Crossing the Matacaballo (Horsekiller) Desert.
Or the Andes! The Peak of Death, where the
weather is so extreme that people often freeze to
death standing up. And the human problems. The revolution
in Nicaragua. Anarchy in Colombia. Banditos. Trying
to find food for his horses where there wasn't any.
Also horse shoes and vets. (Though he did find a
witch doctor. Who cured the horse.) If you like
horses, horse stories, adventure yarns, tales of
bureaucratic despair, and romances, this is the
book for you.

TITLEGABRIELA, CLOVE AND CINNAMONAUTHOR:
Jorge Amado
(Brazilian Nobel Laureate)
DESCRIPTION: MY OLDER DAUGHTER'S MIDDLE NAME IS GABRIELA
BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK. In 1925, the Brazilian town
of Ilheus burst into prosperity & modernity as cacao
plantations gobbled up the land. Cacao barons built
nouveau riche monstrosities and cultivated fine airs.
The filthy, starving mulatto girl, Gabriela, wandered
into town, escaping famine in the North. Just as Nacib
the Arab lost his cook. What would his Cafe do with
no cook? Nacib is so desperate he hires the waif.
And Gabriela, bathed and clothed, is a beauty who
has every man in town panting. Also-- she's a great
cook. The Cafe is hopping and Nacib is a mess. Can
he hold on to her? A melange of political bosses,
concubines, proper wives and daughters. Cheating wives
and scandal. The beautiful Gabriela and her food moves
through it like a smile. A beloved classic in Brazil.

TITLE
ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMENAUTHOR Jim FergusDESCRIPTION:
In 1874, Cheyenne war chief Little Wolf makes an
unusual proposal to the President of the United
States: In order to heal the wounds between the
red and white races, Little Wolf offers to trade
the United States government 1000 horses for 1000
white women. The women will marry his warriors.
The resulting children will meld the two civilizations
and bring peace. This is engaging, rewarding fiction,
superbly researched and spell binding. It is fiction.
I repeat: FICTION! Try and put it down.

TITLETHE DIARIES OF ADAM AND EVE: Translated by Mark
TwainAUTHOR:
Mark Twain
DESCRIPTION: Short and very sweet. The Diaries present
a charming and enlightened view of the relationship
between the First Humans. Written late in Twain's
life, the Diaries are considered his most personal
work. Contain typical Twain wit, iconoclastic thinking
and sardonic good will. Adam's later entries are believed
to reflect Twain's feelings for his beloved, deceased
wife, Livy. Adam and Eve's love for each other and
Adam's grief for Eve moved me to tears. Beautifully
illustrated.

TITLE
HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER'S STONE (Book 1)AUTHOR
J. K. Rowling
DESCRIPTION: When my cousin, Marcia, said the Harry
books were winners, I knew it was true. She has
taste. Of course, The New York Times, Publishers'
Weekly, Booklist, and you name it, agree. So do
I-- I was hooked in 3 pages. Gobbled my way through
the remaining three books. I'm waiting anxiously
for the Rowling's next effort, out in 7/00. Already
Amazon's top seller, in advance orders alone. You
don't have to be a kid to love this.

TITLE
HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
(Book 2)AUTHOR
J. K. RowlingDESCRIPTION:
I'll just continue from Book 1. These books legitimately
deserve adjectives like: Charming. Witty. Inventive.
Delightful. Beguiling. Fun. Rowling doesn't loose
her touch throughout. I thought #3 of the series
was the best. This is the story of wizard child
Harry Potter at Hogswart, a boarding school for
witches and wizards. There, he is willful, disobedient,
and delightful. He lies to the staff and gets in
one scrape after another. All wonderfully resolved.

TITLE
HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
(Book 3)AUTHOR
J. K. RowlingDESCRIPTION:
Strange creatures, weird teachers, great names (Hogswart!?),
a fun reality to enter when real reality pinches.
Author Rowling was a struggling single mother, a
Scotswoman, when she got the idea for the firs t
Harry Potter book. She received a small endowment
to allow her to finish. The rest is history. You
go girl! You go endowments for the arts!

TITLE
THE SAGAS OF THE ICELANDERS, Intro by Jane
Smiley
AUTHORS: Various
DESCRIPTION:Roots time for me. I am half Icelandic.
People tend to think of the ancient Norsemen as
barbaric murderers. Well, they went a-Viking, and
you probably wouldn't want to meet them on one of
their "shopping trips". But the Norse
had a rich and complicated culture, their own religion,
and some of the most powerful sagas in the world.
Icelanders were the scribes and intellectuals. The
Icelandic sagas have been compared to the Greek
in scope and power. Sample a civilization that's
been glossed over by European history. Check out
Independent People, by Halldor Laxness, for
an example of a modern Icelandic genius' writing.
It's in the previous section.

Did you know I'm an author? Yep. I've won seventeen national awards. Here are my books:

STEPPING OFF THE EDGE: LEARNING & LIVING SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

A MODERN SPIRITUAL COMPANION

NUMENON
A TALE OF MYSTICIAM & MONEY MENON

"BILL GATES MEETS DON JUAN."

TECOLOTE: THE LITTLE HORSE THAT COULD

BORN PREMATURELY ON A FREEZING NIGHT, THE COLT HAD TO FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE.

THE ANGEL & THE BROWN-EYED BOY

A FUTURE WORLD ONLY HEARTBEATS FROM OUR OWN

Click the covers above to go Sandy Nathan's books on the Amazon Kindle store. All Kindle books are 99 cents.
They are also available as print books at Amazon.The Angel and Numenonare also at the Nook store. The Angel is an iBook, as well.

Spurs
Magazine is produced by horse people on a working horse
ranch. The good life must include horses, and books about
them. Here are a few of our favorites. Note that we own
Peruvian Paso Horses, so our library has a definite Spanish
slant.

TITLE
THE LONG WAY TO LOS GATOS
AUTHOR Verne Albright
DESCRIPTION: I'm including this book in horse books
and regular books because I think it's such a great
read. Continuing the blurb I started above---Verne
rides from Peru to California, surpassing one obstacle
after another after another until the reader feels
like tearing his/her hair out and murdering most
of the officials in South America! I was anxious
the entire time I read this book-- which fortunately
wasn't very long: I couldn't put it down. What a
tale! Why did he do this? He was a young
guy in his 20's. He wanted to promote the Peruvian
Paso breed. And also, the ride seemed like a good
way to condition one of the mares for the Tevis
Cup (the 100 mile endurance race) in Auburn. Yeah.
Riding her from Peru should do it. If you like horses,
horse stories, adventure yarns, tales of bureaucratic
despair, and romances, this is the book for you.

TITLE
HEAVENLY GAITS:The Complete book of Gaited
Riding Horses
AUTHOR: Brenda Imus
DESCRIPTION: Are you tired of aching after every
ride? Do you dream of pain free riding? Liberation
can be yours! Try an easy gaited horse! I made the
switch, and I'm glad. This comprehensive book discusses
all the gaited breeds-- Saddlehorses, Peruvian Pasos,
Icelandics, many more. Explains what lateral gait
is. Why suffer? Figure out which breed appeals and
GO FOR IT!

TITLE
HORSE FOLLOW CLOSELY: Native American Horsemanship
AUTHOR: GaWaNi Pony BoyDESCRIPTION: Sick of boring old dressage? Overdone
eventing? Wacky Western riding? In this stunningly
beautiful volume, GaWaNi Pony Boy describes the
roots of Native American riding. When Europeans
arrived in the Americas, horses had disappeared
long before. GaWaNi shows how the first Americans
took to horses-- and created an awe inspiring bond
and culture. I have not met GaWaNi, but I knew my
husband would love his horsemanship the minute I
saw this book. GaWaNi doesn't clip his horse's faces--
something my husband totally approves.

BOOKS
IN PROGRESS: An
unexpected category. These are books I'm reading/using
myself right now. I post them by name so our favorite
charity will benefit most from my purchases. And
yours. These are good books which may interest you. This
batch relates to the series of articles I'm writing on
eBay and on-line auctions, which will be posted on this
site soon. Topics include auction how-tos, Internet addiction
and how to beat it, and compulsive overspending. I'll
post a few sentences on each book as I read it.

BORN PREMATURELY ON A FREEZING NIGHT, THE COLT HAD TO FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE.

THE ANGEL & THE BROWN-EYED BOY

A FUTURE WORLD ONLY HEARTBEATS FROM OUR OWN

Click the covers above to go Sandy Nathan's books on the Amazon Kindle store. All Kindle books are 99 cents.
They are also available as print books at Amazon.The Angel and Numenonare also at the Nook store. The Angel is an iBook, as well.